PHILIP Orton died in police custody in 2003. A police log says he was checked three times when in fact CCTV suggests that didn’t happen.

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POLICE officers assumed a man, who later died after collapsing in his cell, was alive because they could hear him 'snoring'.

The inquest into Philip Orton, of Westway, Little Hulton, who died in police custody, has heard officers did not open his cell door once to check on him.

A police surgeon told custody staff the 40-year-old should have been monitored every 30 minutes at Eccles police station following his arrest in connection with reports of a stabbing in January 2003.

A jury inquest in Bolton was told that because he was drunk, the checks should have involved him being physically roused to get a response but this did not happen.

Custody officer sergeant Michael Rees told the hearing that he believed Mr Orton was alive because of his loud snoring.

The inquest has also heard that custody records reported Mr Orton had been visited in his cell six times over a three-hour period before he was found collapsed yet images taken from a CCTV camera monitoring the cell showed the door had only been approached once - when another custody suite officer went to offer him breakfast.

Mr Orton was pronounced dead in hospital on January 4, 2003.

During a police interview, Sgt Rees said he was satisfied his staff knew Mr Orton was on 30-minute watches and knew what they entailed but he said that it was 'common practice' that a prisoner was perceived to be alive if heard snoring.

He added: "If they are snoring then you would assume that they are alive and well."

The inquest was told records showed Mr Orton was visited at 7.02am, 7.26am, 7.52am, 8.18am, 8.52am and 9.18am and was then found collapsed at 9.55am.

Sgt Rees said it fell to his colleagues to check Mr Orton and added he could not remember the circumstances of each visit but he personally shouted to him from the corridor.

In interview, Sgt Rees agreed that custody record reports said Mr Orton had been roused at 8.18am, 8,52am and 9.18am but the jury was told CCTV images showed no one near his cell at those times.